This tasty 'Bird will be AutoRama fare

By Jeff Yip Autos correspondent |
November 22, 2013

Tony and Eloise Rodriguez's 1955 Ford Thunderbird is going to be displayed at next week's AutoRama.

The factory detailing of the 1955 Thunderbird's engine-turned dash is impressive â for any era.

No car from the nifty '50s would be complete without fuzzy dice.

The rear "rockets" of the 1955 Thunderbird two-seat convertible shows the influence aviation had on post-war car designs.

Tony Rodriguez, left, and his friend Daniel Gomez are going to be exhibiting their cars at this year's O'Reilly's Auto Parts AutoRama. Rodriguez owns this 1955 T-Bird and Gomez has a 1971 Chevy Camaro Z/28.

It started with a text message - something that didn't exist in 1955. But what did exist, and was wildly popular, was the Thunderbird - Ford's answer to the Chevy Corvette sports car.

In 2011, Tony Rodriguez's son was driving down a residential street in Pasadena, when he spotted a red 1955 Thunderbird in a garage and took it upon himself to chat up the owner.

Turns out even though there wasn't a "for sale" sign on the '55 Ford two-seater, the owner was ready to let the classic 'Bird go. Tony Jr. let his dad know. Wisely, Tony the elder snapped up the iconic convertible faster than you can say, "It doesn't hurt to ask."

"It's the best of both worlds," said Rodriguez Sr., a retired Houston airports employee. "It's a sporty car. It's a classic. When we were in high school, my wife, Eloise, had a 1966 Mustang. She's always liked them. We always told ourselves that when we retired we'd get a nice older Mustang. We ended up with this instead."

The Thunderbird is almost stock, down to its white soft top. Rodriguez Sr. and Daniel Gomez, a friend and neighbor, replaced all the rubber components. Another friend, Steve Jackson, got the 292-cu. in V8 running again.

Rodriguez has taken it to a few local car shows, including one in Pearland where it picked up a prize, but said he's content cleaning and maintaining the Thunderbird and keeping it as original as he can.

And, of course, driving it.

"This car makes us feel young again. It brings back good memories," Rodriguez said. "Back in the '50s cars were cars. They had class. Today's cars all look the same. A lot of the time they don't have real chrome. There's no 'chromed' plastic on this car."

He and Eloise try to drive the T-Bird on Saturday or Sunday, going out to breakfast and then it goes right back into the garage. "People honk and give us the thumbs up. A lady passenger said, 'Nice car.' "

The Thunderbird will be in excellent company next week, when Rodriguez displays the car at the O'Reilly Auto Parts AutoRama at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center. While it will be the first time Rodriguez shows a car at the AutoRama, many of the show cars are well known throughout Texas and the nation.

On Thursday, children who bring a canned good for the Houston Food Bank will be admitted free with each adult ticket purchase. (Adults are $18, children 6-12 are $4.99, discounted tickets are available from O'Reilly Auto Parts stores.)

There are lots of activities ranging from an indoor swap meet where visitors can scrounge and find hard-to-find parts, repair manuals and vintage magazine advertisements, to a Kruse Classics collector car auction, fashion shows, live music, stunt bike and motorcycle show, and a pin-up girl contest.

Custom car royalty will return to Houston. Famed metal artist Gene Winfield will demonstrate the customizing techniques he has used on vehicles appearing in TV shows and movies such as Batman, Star Trek, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Robocop, Blade Runner and Get Smart.